UMELCO
DRAFT SPEECH BY HON HILTON CHEONG-LEEN, CBE, JP
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 22.1.1986
Rating (Amendment) Bill 1986
In recent years, several big cities in the Western world have suffered crippling difficulties in balancing their budgets because of escalating inflation, and the need to meet the rising aspirations of their urban dwellers. Some, as we know, have plunged hopelessly into the red, a recent example being Liverpool, which is now in a difficult financial crisis.
To a much lesser extent the Urban Council, too, was facing a rather gloomy financial future. Under the existing financial arrangements between the Government and the Urban Council, the Council was gradually but inexorably slipping into an ever increasing deficit position which in a few more years would have jeopardised the high standard of municipal services at present provided for the 4 million urban dwellers of Hong
Kong.
To enable the Council to continue with its long-term and meaningful task, the Council and the Government set up a Working Party early last year to formulate a new financial package and furthermore devise practical amendments to the outdated Memorandum of Administrative Arrangements between the Government and the Council which was drawn up in 1973.
with goodwill and commonsense on both sides, a new financial package has been drawn up which necessitates the proposed adjustments to the rates percentages in the Urban Council area to ensure that the Council will have a balanced
budget at least for the next few years.
UMELCO